Somwung Pitiyanuwat

Somwung Pitiyanuwat with Dean Steven Yussen and
Regent Lakeesha Ransom after receiving the
Outstanding Achievement Award.

Somwung Pitiyanuwat, who received the college’s first Distinguished International Alumni Award in 1997, received the University’s Outstanding Achievement Award Nov. 15, in a ceremony at Coffman Union. The OAA is conferred on graduates or former students of the University who have attained unusual distinction in their chosen profession or in public service, and who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership on a community, state, national, or international level.

Pitiyanuwat came to the University from Thailand in 1973 to do his graduate work in measurement and statistics in the Department of Educational Psychology. His mentor and professor in Thailand, Wichit Srisa-an, who also received a Ph.D. here, recommended the University to Pitiyanuwat.

“I knew of the University of Minnesota from Dr. Wichit,” Pitiyanuwat explained in an interview after the OAA was presented. “I thought probably he’s so great because of what he learned here. So I applied to only one university, the University of Minnesota.”

After receiving a Ph.D. in 1976, Pitiyanuwat returned to Thailand and began his academic career at Chulalongkorn University. He soon became a leader in higher education and, despite his strong desire to teach and do research, found himself taking on administrative roles—dean of education, vice president for research, executive member of the Education Reform Commission, and currently, director of the Office of National Standards and Quality Assessment, reporting to the prime minister of Thailand.

“I love teaching and learning,” Pitiyanuwat says. “But people from developing countries who become educated abroad and return to help their countries cannot avoid becoming administrators.

“I want to do good things for the country and for the world,” he says. “I want my son and my grandson to be proud of me. I think I had really good luck to come here. I learned from my professors, not just to be a student, but to solve problems. That is what I am trying to do now in Thailand—solve problems.”